O’Reilly started off the discussion with an opening for Breitbart to start the pity party by asking, “Who are the worst offenders here?” in the Breitbart victimization.

The “fair and balanced” Fox News producers also overlooked Breitbart’s long record of journalistic transgressions and described him with a banner saying, “conservative internet publisher.”

Breitbart started by lighting into Media Matters, saying he couldn’t think “of a more grotesque organization in the history of the media.”

O’Reilly’s no fan of Media Matters. He completely overlooked any and all of Breitbart’s ethical lapses and accused Media Matters of being “in business… to basically smear anyone with whom they disagree.”

I wonder how O’Reilly would describe Breitbart’s treatment of Sherrod – who is currently suing him over the damange to her reputation thanks to one of his deceptive videos.

Nevertheless, O’Reilly was all ears and credulousness as Breitbart went on to allege – without offering any evidence – that “MSNBC has a level of coordination with the White House and with Media Matters… 100% they coordinate and put talking points from Media Matters into the mouths of Fareed Zakaria, Lawrence O’Donnell, Rachel Maddow – the coordination is stellar, it’s impeccable.”

Instead of questioning Breitbart’s assertions or noting how he has quite deliberately used his work as a means to advance his own political agenda, O’Reilly feigned balance by mentioning – and then dismissing – allegations that Fox News has acted in concert with the GOP. “Now, of course it’s been – Fox News, in articles, even last week, been accused of the Republican – we’re the Republican machine. …I’ve been doing it 15 years, I have never heard from a Republican, never gotten anything from them. But that is the accusation against this network which I think is patently false.”

Regardless of what O’Reilly thinks, others in a position to know say otherwise. For example, a recent Rolling Stone article reported:

After Bush took office, Ailes stayed in frequent touch with the new Republican president. “The senior-level editorial people believe that Roger was on the phone every day with Bush,” a source close to Fox News tells Rolling Stone. “He gave Bush the same kind of pointers he used to give George H.W. Bush – delivery, effectiveness, political coaching... In fact, Fox News was working ­directly with the Bush administration to coordinate each day’s agenda – as Bush’s own press secretary, Scott McClellan, later conceded. “We at the White House,” McClellan said, “were getting them talking points.” (Ailes and Fox News declined repeated requests from Rolling Stone for an interview.)”

There are also the now-famous memoranda exposed in the 2004 documentary Outfoxed (for which I was proud to be a researcher) and the more recent revelations by, coincidentally, Media Matters of newsroom partisanship by Fox VP and Washington managing editor Bill Sammon - including his admission that he didn’t believe his own on-air accusations about Barack Obama’s supposed socialism.

Plus, let’s face it. You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows and on Fox, the wind blows as the communications arm of the GOP.

Hannity: You and I spoke last night… You told me this big story was gonna break and then you had four of the five photos, this woman (one of Weiner’s sexting partners) who we’re going to be interviewing, that we just interviewed and we’re gonna air it tomorrow night – you sent me three of them and because I didn’t want the fourth one.

Breitbart: By the way, I have not shown that to many people.

While he overlooked that mountain of hypocrisy, O’Reilly upped the pity-party ante by asking poor Breitbart, “Do you fear for your life? Do you have security? Do you think they’re coming after you?”

Breitbart put on a brave face over vague threats of an uncertain seriousness. “I don’t want to talk about what precautions I take,” he said solemnly. “But I certainly get threats left and right, mostly from the left… It’s problematic but I think the bigger your name is and the more open you are, the more protection you have.”

“Just be careful. Be very careful,” O’Reilly said with great sympathy as if he were talking to some paragon of investigative reporting.

As is so often the case, Stephen Colbert may have summed up Breitbart’s journalistic prowess the best. Highlighting Breitbart’s epic fails with ACORN, Sherrod and NPR, Colbert noted that the vindication Breitbart received from Weingergate made him now “one for four.” Colbert also called Breitbart, “The Edward R. Murrow of Congressional wang voters.” You can watch the Colbert segment in the second video below.

I wonder if Breitbart will be accusing Colbert of being part of the MSNBC/Media Matters/White House cabal, too.